Note: With all the types of rhetorical strategy mentioned below, we are not
talking about essay "types", but about rhetorical styles which writers
use for particular purposes. Some essays ask for a more expository than argumentative
style, and for particular strategies within those styles. As we shall see later, authentic
essays actually require you to use a combination of these styles.

Expository(mainly):"Exposition" is a
rather formal term which really means either "information"
or "explanation", modes of communication we might
use to write a manual, offer instructions on how things work or where to find
things, or recount what happened during a revolution, etc.
Below we have identified 4 types of expository essay found in university curricula:

Descriptive
Science-related essays often require background description: of a thing, process or
state of affairs - analyzing it into its parts. This can be done chronologically,
serially, hierarchically, etc. It is a test of your ability to select and synthesise factual
information.

Explanatory
This approach is asked for in essay looking for an account of reasons or causes in
relation to perceived effects or results. In most Social Science disciplines, you
will be asked to draw on theory to support your explanation. Your interpretation
demonstrates how well you understand the relevant theories.

Illustrative
This could be fairly descriptive, but illustrations need to be relevant and
appropriate, and written with explicit reference to the theoretical point being
supported.

Analytical
This could apply to experimental data, or to an argument or text. It is the process of
breaking down something into its component parts, often in order to analyse patterns or
categories based on a theoretical position.

Argumentative (mainly)Argumentativeliterally refers to everything that
involves debate and possible disagreement,
and to opinion as opposed to the uncontested facts of exposition. It
means agreeing or disagreeing with a given proposition, either strongly
or tentatively.

In more general terms it refers to a more subjective style of writing, where
writers engage in defining their terms or interpreting and evaluating the views, evidence
or data very clearly from their own perspective or viewpoint.

Defining
Essays which expect a strong defining component are common in philosophy, but also
feature in Sociology.
A question may look factual- e.g. Do we have
free will? , but the way to
answered it is by careful definition of what is meant by the concept of free
will.

In Sociology, in particular, competing definitions often need to be explored at
length, particularly in essays on social stratification or social class.

Evaluative
Some essays require you to pass judgement or make an assessment, according to
stated criteria. In cases when you could say Well,
it depends what you mean by (X) ... , it is
important that you define theterms by which you apply or explore these
criteria. Terms, such as "success" or "effectiveness", are often
value-laden.. Basically, you may be asked to judge how good or bad something is, or how
far it is true.
E.g.: Evaluate the contribution of political parties to the development of

the movement for democracy in Hong Kong

Interpretive
Interpretation is classically a literary process, where you place your interpretation
of a text in the context of other, perhaps more established interpretations. It is
also often used in Political Science and History, where



the causes, developments and results of political
developmentsor events are interpreted,



there are conventional (and often competing) interpretations
to re-examine